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Meet 'Lucky' Yamaguchi, the only man to have survived both Hiroshima AND Nagasaki atomic bomb blasts
By Mail Foreign Service
Last updated at 9:24 PM on 24th March 2009
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Lucky: Tsutomu Yamaguchi, the only man in history to survive not one but TWO atomic bomb blasts
A man of 93 has become the first person certified as a survivor of both the U.S. atomic bombs dropped on Japan at the end of the Second World War.
Tsutomu Yamaguchi appears to be the only person in history to have survived not one, but two atomic bomb blasts.
But does this make him the luckiest man in the world - or the unluckiest...?
Yamaguchi had already been a certified 'hibakusha,' or radiation survivor, of the August 9, 1945, atomic bombing in Nagasaki.
But he has now been confirmed as surviving the attack on Hiroshima three days earlier as well, city officials said.
Yamaguchi was in Hiroshima on a business trip on August 6, 1945, when a U.S. B-29 dropped an atomic bomb on the city.
He suffered serious burns to his upper body and spent the night in the city.
Traumatised, he then sought the refuge of his hometown - Nagasaki.
With devastating timing, he arrived just in time for the second attack, city officials said.
First, Yamaguchi survived this atomic bomb blast on Hiroshima on August 6, 1945...
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... Then he returned to the refuge of his hometown, Nagasaki - and survived THIS atomic bomb blast on August 9, 1945
'As far as we know, he is the first one to be officially recognised as a survivor of atomic bombings in both Hiroshima and Nagasaki,' Nagasaki city official Toshiro Miyamoto said.
'It's such an unfortunate case, but it is possible that there are more people like him.'
It is unclear why it has taken so long for Yamaguchi to be recognised.
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A view of a devastated Hiroshima pictured from the highest building left standing after the bomb was dropped
Certification qualifies survivors for government compensation - including monthly allowances, free medical checkups and funeral costs - but Yamaguchi will not get double compensation, Miyamoto said.
Japan is the only country to have suffered atomic bomb attacks. About 140,000 people were killed in Hiroshima and 70,000 in Nagasaki.
Yamaguchi is one of about 260,000 people who survived the attacks. Bombing survivors have developed various illnesses from radiation exposure, including cancer and liver illnesses.
Enlarge
An aerial view of the ground zero site in Nagasaski before the atomic bomb was dropped
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And ground zero AFTER the bomb was dropped - with practically nothing left standing
Meet 'Lucky' Yamaguchi, the only man to have survived both Hiroshima AND Nagasaki atomic bomb blasts
By Mail Foreign Service
Last updated at 9:24 PM on 24th March 2009
Enlarge
Lucky: Tsutomu Yamaguchi, the only man in history to survive not one but TWO atomic bomb blastsA man of 93 has become the first person certified as a survivor of both the U.S. atomic bombs dropped on Japan at the end of the Second World War.
Tsutomu Yamaguchi appears to be the only person in history to have survived not one, but two atomic bomb blasts.
But does this make him the luckiest man in the world - or the unluckiest...?
Yamaguchi had already been a certified 'hibakusha,' or radiation survivor, of the August 9, 1945, atomic bombing in Nagasaki.
But he has now been confirmed as surviving the attack on Hiroshima three days earlier as well, city officials said.
Yamaguchi was in Hiroshima on a business trip on August 6, 1945, when a U.S. B-29 dropped an atomic bomb on the city.
He suffered serious burns to his upper body and spent the night in the city.
Traumatised, he then sought the refuge of his hometown - Nagasaki.
With devastating timing, he arrived just in time for the second attack, city officials said.
Enlarge
... Then he returned to the refuge of his hometown, Nagasaki - and survived THIS atomic bomb blast on August 9, 1945'As far as we know, he is the first one to be officially recognised as a survivor of atomic bombings in both Hiroshima and Nagasaki,' Nagasaki city official Toshiro Miyamoto said.
'It's such an unfortunate case, but it is possible that there are more people like him.'
It is unclear why it has taken so long for Yamaguchi to be recognised.
Enlarge
A view of a devastated Hiroshima pictured from the highest building left standing after the bomb was droppedCertification qualifies survivors for government compensation - including monthly allowances, free medical checkups and funeral costs - but Yamaguchi will not get double compensation, Miyamoto said.
Japan is the only country to have suffered atomic bomb attacks. About 140,000 people were killed in Hiroshima and 70,000 in Nagasaki.
Yamaguchi is one of about 260,000 people who survived the attacks. Bombing survivors have developed various illnesses from radiation exposure, including cancer and liver illnesses.
Enlarge
An aerial view of the ground zero site in Nagasaski before the atomic bomb was droppedEnlarge
And ground zero AFTER the bomb was dropped - with practically nothing left standing
